Wolfpack Rewind: A disastrous day in Boston

Here's a look back at the good, the bad and the offbeat from Saturday's 45-24 loss at Boston College

Greg M. Cooper/USAToday sports

THE GOOD

There's never a lot of good to go around when you get beat by three touchdows. But in the case of Saturday's lopsided loss to Boston College, NC State can at least take solace in the contributions it got from a pair of Devins. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary came off the bench in relief of Bailey Hockman and completed 15 of 33 passes for 259 yards and all three of the Wolfpack's touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Devin Carter, meanwhile, continued his emergence as the big play wide receiver State has lacked by catching passes of 55, 24 and 22 yards on his way to career-high totals of six receptions and 140 yards.

THE BAD

The choices are unlimited, from the continued red zone failures to the 4 of 17 third down conversion rate to the pick six that got the rout started. Of all that went wrong, however, the most glairing failure was the total breakdown of State's run defense. The Wolfpack came into the game ranked No. 1 in the ACC against the run, having allowed only 400 rushing yards in its first six games combined. It left Alumni Stadium fifth in the league after having been torched 429 yards -- most of which by the Eagles 1-2 punch of A.J. Dillon and David Bailey. While some of difficulty stopping the ran can be traced to injuries, the main culprits were an uncharacteristic lack of physicality at the point of attack and far too many missed tackles at the second level.

THE OFFBEAT

BC's running attack was so effective that the Eagles didn't even bother trying to throw the ball after jumping out to its big early lead. They went through the entire second quarter without attempting a pass and yet still outgained the Wolfpack 204 to minus-3 while putting 17 points on the board. First-time starting quarterback Dennis Grosel only threw the ball three times after the first quarter, completing two for 33 yards. For the game he was 6 of 15 for 103, with nearly half those yards coming on a 51-yard gain off a first quarter screen pass to Hunter Long.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Leary started the season third on the depth chart, but over the past three weeks -- thanks, it seems, to the process of elimination -- the redshirt sophomore who set numerous high school passing records in New Jersey has risen to the top of the Wolfpack's quarterback class. Seeing the first extended action of his college career, Leary put himself in line for the starting job moving forward by going 15 of 33 for 259 yards and three touchdowns.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Leading receiver Emeka Emezie had only two catches in the game for 22 yards, but with his first quarter grab from Bailey Hockman, the junior became the 20th player in school history to reach the 100 career catch plateau. He's the fourth State player in the Dave Doeren era to reach the century mark, joining Kelvin Harmon, Jakobi Meyers and Jaylen Samuels. 

UNSUNG HERO

Thayer Thomas continues to do a little of everything for the Wolfpack. Saturday, he caught two touchdown passes from Leary, both on fourth-and-goal plays. He also completed a 24-yard pass to Carter. The sophomore receiver is now 3 of 4 passing for the season for 74 yards and two scores. His quarterback rating for the year is now up to 395.4.

INJURY REPORT

The Wolfpack played without 11 players that have been on its two-deep depth chart at one time or another this season. It's a list that includes defensive end James Smith-Williams, cornerbacks Chris Ingram, Teshaun Smith, Nick McCloud and Taiyon Palmer, running back Ricky Person, offensive tackles Justin Witt and Tyrone Riley, wide receivers C.J. Riley and Cecil Powell, and tight end Dylan Autenreith.

"I don't know where to start. We didn't tackle well, we didn't set edges, didn't play low enough, didn't have good enough technique. They did a better job than we did. That's the bottom line. They pushed us around at times." Coach Dave Doeren

“I just kept hearing about the No. 1 rush defense in the ACC. Not that it necessarily changed the game plan or that we had anything to prove, but when you’re a competitor, you want to go up against the best. So if they’re the best rush defense, we want to come with our best. So that kind of got us going, I would say.” BC running back A.J. Dillon

"The only thing I would say is we've got to continue to take an 0-0 mentality every week. We've got to win the week and go 1-0. I don't think the away factor plays a big role." Quarterback Devin Leary

NEXT UP

State has next week off to get healthy and correct the mistakes that led to Saturday's loss before returning to action against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Nov. 2.